(Editor's note: Mississippi State sophomore LaToya Thomas, a Kodak All-American who on Jan. 11 became the second fastest player in SEC history to reach 1,000 points (46 games), will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.)

Jan. 23, 2001

	Thomas

Hey everyone! I'm back! I have to apologize for not writing last week. Things have been crazy around here. I will try to be better about it.

Since I last wrote, we have been to Oxford, Miss., Knoxville, Tenn., and Fayetteville, Ark. And we hosted Alabama on Sunday. It hasn't been a good stretch for us. We did beat Mississippi, which is always a big win for us and our fans because of the fierce rivalry.

We played tough at Tennessee but came up short. Despite our loss, we played team ball, which we've been searching for all season. I always enjoy playing talented players like Tamika Catchings, but I was really sad to hear about her tearing her ACL. That is a bad injury, but I hope she finds a way to come back for the postseason. She is a great player and I'm sure she'll be a huge success at the next level. We are all keeping her in our prayers.

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At Tennessee, my roommate, Courtney "Cornbread" Graham, started for the first time. She stepped up big for us. She has been working hard all season and it has paid off because she has found herself in a starting position. I am so proud of her.

While we were in Knoxville, we visited the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. If you are ever near there and you are a fan of women's basketball, you have to go. We didn't have much time but it was cool to see pictures of all the female athletes who have made this sport what it is. They have kind of a play area downstairs where you can shoot in old-time baskets. It was funny to watch our trainer and SID try to do behind-the-back passes and stuff.

I still don't really know what happened in Fayetteville. Arkansas came out ready to play and we just didn't do what we needed to. Sunday, we were beating Alabama, but the Crimson Tide never gave up and pulled out a victory in the end.

It has been tough for the team lately, but I think we will find a way to win. We just have to get focused. This week we head to Auburn and LSU. It is gonna be tough at Auburn because the Tigers are gonna be ready for us. They will be looking for revenge since we beat them in overtime last year. I know half the players on Auburn's roster, so I am looking forward to playing them.

Injuries all around
I talked to Georgia's Ebony Felder last night. She was telling me all about rehab and riding the bike and stuff. She told me how hard it is to sit and watch her team play. She said she's looking forward to next season and plans to be ready to play. She said she wasn't out of shape but I told her she was. She said she's praying that she'll be healthy.

I've never had an injury that kept me out more than two days at a time. I know I would go crazy having to sit and watch my team play. Last season I had a stress fracture in my foot for most of the season.

One of me teammates, Meagan O'Nan, has the same injury this season, except unlike me, her left foot is injured. She is sitting out this year because she transferred here, but we miss her in practice. I remember how painful my foot was to play on. I usually couldn't feel it in the first half, but by the second half it hurt bad. Plus, whenever I wasn't playing I had to walk around in a boot. That was the worst. Our trainer, Mary McLendon, made me a cover for the inside of my shoe so people couldn't step on my foot.

Anyway, classes are keeping me pretty busy with homework and study halls and everything. It just seems like there's never enough time. It's always hard to be on the road so much because you miss class. It'll be good to be home a lot in February so we can all get caught up on our work.

I'll be back next week!

Tido